A Boy's Best Friend
by Bookgeek890
Summary: Why the f* am I a dog now? And since when have I been in not America?
1. Me: A Prologue

It was Saturday. Sweet wonderful Saturday. We had finally gotten a decent amount of snow and everything I had planned for the day was delayed and sub sequentially cancelled due to being unable to get in the building (long story). Either way, I now had to find some way of entertaining myself without getting into trouble. I really didn't want to try and start on that huge pile of homework so I got on the internet and started surfing. Eventually, I found my way to Netflix, but nothing really looked interesting. I scrolled through my recommendations and saw that Broadchurch was still there. It had been there for about a year or so now and I figured, might as well watch the first episode. I didn't have anything better to do that day. Yeah, basically long story short, I watched all of season one and started searching for season two. Another long story short, America ain't getting squat until March. MARCH!

*huff* I hate waiting. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. Its times like these when I really envy the Doctor. He can just hop a few years from now and catch up on all the books and TV and movies he wants too while the rest of us are stuck on the slow path.

…

Well, I guess I could always kidnap David Tennant and get what happens out of him. He's already filmed season 2…

And before you people start up on how kidnapping is bad and what-not, I tried to watch Gracepoint, but it's too much of a repeat too soon and my attention span is limited when it comes to repeats. But, you're probably wondering where this is going.

Am I right? Or am I left?

So basically, I watched Broadchurch all Saturday and went to sleep after realizing I wasn't getting much of a season 2 and I would have to give Gracepoint a month or two before I fell in love with it as well, I mean it _is_ David Tennant. Now imagine my shock when I went to wake up, I did so with four legs instead of two and a salty breeze washing over me.

I'll give you a hint, I don't live near a beach.

* * *

**I don't own Broadchurch.**


	2. Dreaming

The sun hit my face and I buried my head into my pillow to try to get away. Unfortunately, instead of squishy warmth, I got a face full of sand. I jerked my head up sputtering and looked around to notice I was on a beach. _Am I dreaming?_

I went to stand and noticed I was all furry and four legged. I stood there in shock before racing to the water to try and get a reflection. I looked in and a German Shepherd looked back. Panicking a bit, I jumped back and ran to the cliffside where I circled around myself.

_I have to be dreaming. That's all this is. It's just a very weird and strange dream and I honestly don't know where it would have come from but might as well enjoy it while I can._

Deciding to just roll with it, I started to look around. I wanted to see where my crazy brain decided to send me _without warning. _Really, we need to have a conversation about my unconscious mind warning my conscious mind before sending me into a lucid dream like this.

I headed back over to the water and tentatively stepped close enough for the water to brush against my feet…paws…whatever. It was freezing. Well, that throws out any location near the equator – which is weird because all the beaches I've been to, I don't remember the water being particularly cold. Which doesn't really make sense as I thought dreams were supposed to only include things that you knew…..or I'm just overthinking this. I have experienced cold water and my brain is probably being a douchebag.

That's totally it.

As I stared back into the water, I noticed I still had my eyes. My stormy grey-blue eyes. _Well, at least I keep something, thanks brain._

Deciding against running through the water, no matter how fun the brief thought might have been, I got back to the task at hand – figuring out where my subconscious is sending me.

I glanced around again and all I see is a huge cliff and a beach. Doing eenie-meenie-miney-mo I head to the left of the cliff.

I started to trot along the beach and after an hour or two saw the cliffs start to taper down and there was a path that lead up to the top. I headed up and there was a huge grassy area. I saw a house up aways and it looked familiar, but I couldn't place it. Deciding to leave it I went and followed the road. It led me into a small town and there was a sign right outside it.

**Welcome to Broadchurch**

I choked a little when I saw that.

_Broadchurch. BROADCHURCH! As in the TV show I just got into?! What the fuck, brain?! Are you trying to tell me I officially have a new obsession to add to my collection? Please explain yourself._

Yeah, my brain didn't explain. Surprise, surprise, am I right?

_*huff* Fine, be that way._

_But since this is a dream, might as well continue. And when it's all over, maybe I could post the craziness on FanFiction somewhere and join the mass of self-inserts and try a bit of style manipulation for English. Yeah, that sounds good. Note to self, remember this for when I wake up._

During my inner musings, there was a car that went by. It freaked me out and I jumped back into the bushes. _Brain, again. Warnings are needed when you make cars appear out of nowhere. I freaking swear, you just come up with all these amazing wonderful things and then you NEVER share with the class or you pull pranks on me and….and brains just aren't supposed to do that! Maybe you just have something against me._

Ignoring the randomness of my mind, I went into the city and wondered around. There were a lot of people everywhere and I didn't feel like having some weird interaction that my conscious is sure to come up with, so I avoided them. I was also getting a little hungry but ignored it. If I get hungry enough, I'll wake up but usually I can ignore it and continue sleeping for a few more hours.

I continued walking and the small part that was city-like quickly turned to suburbs. On the way, I found the church, the police headquarters, that hotel DI Hardy stays at, the news-place and other various points of interest. It wasn't too hard, they were all sort-of there together. Perks of a small town. It isn't hard to find something.

But anyway, I continued on and I came across a small field that was surrounded by bushes and out of the way. There were two boys there and they were talking and laughing. One of them saw me watching and pointed to the other. They started to approach and I didn't really know what to do so I just slid into the bushes and scrunched down low. But of course, I can't hide from my own mind.

They came right up to the bushes and crouched down, each holding out a hand.

"Hello." One of them said. He had dark hair and blue eyes a bit like mine. His hair was a tad on the longer side and he seemed a bit quiet and soft spoken.

"Come here." The other said at the same time. He was a blonde and had earthy green eyes. He seemed a bit reserved and a tad more mature than most boys his age. I remember 4th through…well about sophomore year. Boys were horrible then. Still are sometimes.

I just looked at them and they continued to try and coax me out. Figuring that my conscious won't stop until I did as it wanted, I edged my way out of the bushes. Immediately upon doing so, the two boys brightened considerably and backed up a bit to give me room. As soon as I came completely out of the bushes, they started to scratch my back and head and –

_Omg, this feels so good. Yes, more there no, there yes yes yes yes yes keep going Is this what it feels like for dogs? If so, I understand why they like being petted so much, it feels so nice._

After they managed to turn me into a pile of goo, I noticed my tail had been wagging furiously the whole time.

_Huh, I don't remember telling it to do that…_

Eventually, I started to pay attention to the conversation they were having with each other.

"Do you think he belongs to anybody?"

"I don't think so, there's no collar."

"Do you think one of our parents would let us bring him home with us?"

"I don't know, Tom, why don't we just sneak him food and water every day and we'll both try to warm our parents up to the idea. Until then, we'll just keep an eye out for any missing dog posters."

"What if both of our parents say we can, Danny?"

"We could share, take turns on who gets him during the week."

_Wait, what? _I tried to say, but all that came out was a whine. _Oh, come on, I'm lucid dreaming. That means it's my rules and I wanna talk, even though I' m a dog._ This time I tried concentrating really hard on being able to talk and once again, all I got was a whine.

Apparently, this means play time to Tom and Danny. Not that I'm complaining. That stick was asking for it.

Eventually, it got dark and they headed home and I stayed in the field. I was really hungry and I really had to pee, but I refused to be tricked by my dreams. I learned that lesson a long time ago.

_Ok. Time to wake up._

I tried to force myself into the waking world, but nothing happened. I bit myself and again nothing – well, except for pain. That hurt. Note to self: don't do that again.

_Why won't I wake up?_

_…_

_Maybe if I go to sleep here, I'll wake up there…_

_I'm a try it._

_…_

_But I'm not sleepy!_

_Ungh, what the fuck is happening?!_

* * *

**I don't own Broadchurch.**


	3. Not Dreaming

_Why can't I wake up?! This has to be a dream! People do not just find themselves as dogs in other countries! It's not scientifically possible! It's just my sub conscious mind throwing me for a loop!_

_…_

_But I'm really hungry and I really have to pee. Normally when these things happen, I wake up even a little bit. It's part of the programing of a human. So if I'm not waking up…_

_No! No, I'm not going to go there._

_**But what if** – NO BRAIN. I told you I'm not going there!_

**_But – _**

_No._

**_But what if I'm awake?_**

_BRAIN! WE AGREED! NO SMALL VOICES SAYING WHAT I DON'T WANT TO HEAR!_

**_You can't deny it forever…_**

_Mind, must you. Really? Must you do this to me? You could be wrong._

**_But what if?_**

_…*sigh* Fine. Fine! For the sake of the argument, we'll assume that I am awake. Happy?_

**_Yes._**

_And continuing that argument, I can just relieve myself here in this bush._

**_Correct._**

Well, I proceeded to do so and I didn't get the tingly warm feeling you get when you do wet the bed, just pure relief.

_…weird. So I might actually be awake…_

_But that means…_

_DANNY AND TOM!_

_DANNY ISN'T DEAD!_

_AND HE AND TOM WERE ON SPEAKING TERMS!_

_But I've only watched each episode once…and recently. I haven't had time to get all nitty gritty with the details. I also have no idea about timeline other than Danny died sometime after Tom and him broke off their friendship._

_I guess I could just befriend them both and watch for when they start to fight with each other. Then, I could listen for Mark having an affair and head to the house on that night__…_

_I don't know enough though…I don't know what I should do. Because of Danny's death, DI Miller's husband is found, Mark stops cheating, more people go to church, and Hardy starts to find that maybe…just maybe he can care again and not be scared of getting hurt in the process._

_How about I just take this one day at a time. Starting with not getting sent to the pound as I don't know how the laws about dogs work here and not starving to death either._

_So food and not getting caught._

I started to sniff around and smelt something delicious. I followed the smell right outside a diner where it looked like someone had left a burger on the table. I quickly glanced around and snatched it before running off into a side alley back to the field. There I ate dinner and poked around in the bushes until I found a decent spot to sleep where I wouldn't be seen or disturbed.

I went to sleep praying that I would wake up as a human. I don't fancy eating out of garbage cans and having to get around without opposable thumbs or being able to speak English.

When I woke up the next day, I finally started to accept the fact that I might not be dreaming. But that didn't mean I couldn't hold onto hope.

_I need to know the area like the back of my hand – paw. I need to be able to get away if necessary and part of that is knowing the city so well that I can mentally map alternate paths in a heartbeat. I suppose I'll have to do exploring at night to keep away from people. But I also want to befriend Tom and Danny._

_I guess this means that I'll have to have a really messed up sleeping schedule._

_Let's see…most people are at work or school during the week so I would have to sleep during early morning and part of the afternoon so that when the boys are done with school, they can come here to play and I can still explore the town at night._

_This is going to be a pain in the butt to start up though. No phone, no watch, no alarm to help me do it._

_Wonderful. I have to get up without help. Joy._

_I guess I can start by staying up as late as I can today._

_At least dogs can get away with eating less than a human._

_Perk._

_Well, I guess I could start some exploring now and then come back and see if Tom and Danny come back. I don't want to try tracking them down through the town. From the sound of it, they are planning on coming back. I guess I'll just have to trust that they are coming back. Until then, exploring is in order._

I stretched and then got up out of the bushes to start wondering the area nearby. I wanted to be able to always get back to this field. I'll make it my home base for now.

I headed back down the side alley that I took last night and walked along carefully, taking note of hiding places and streets that lead to dead ends. Within the dead ends, I mentally mapped possible escape routes and made a mental reminder to try a few of them out at night when no one was here.

As they day progressed, I managed to get food from someone who was distracted, without them noticing, and I made my way back to the field. There, I waited for a few hours and just as I began to doubt if Tom and Danny would come back, I saw two heads peak over the bushes on the other side.

I waited until they were in the field to make sure it was them before coming out to greet them. They had brought scraps it seemed and I was grateful for it. If they keep bringing me meals then that means I won't have to scavenge that much and I wasn't really looking towards digging in trash.

As I ate, they scratched me and talked.

"What should we name him?"

_Hey, I'm a girl._ I gave a little glare at Danny for that.

Tom looked at me weird. "We still have the list, we could just go down it until we find one he likes."

I shoved my shoulder into Tom's leg this time.

"What?" He asked, a little confused. "What is it?"

_I'm female._ I whined.

Danny stroked my head. "What's the matter?"

_I AM FEMALE! Ungh! Stupid English language and its inability to do body language. ARGH! How to get around this…Oh!_ I took my paw and drew the female sign in the grass.

Tom and Danny stood there, looking really confused so I went further. I drew the boy sign and nudged them and then drew the girl sign and circled myself.

"Is that…is that the sign for girls we learned recently in Biology?" Danny asked Tom.

"I think he is trying to tell us he's really a she." Tom answered.

"Smart dog. Really creepy though. But, is that what you wanted to tell us. You're a girl?" Danny directed towards me.

I nodded my head furiously. _Finally, some communication!_

"At least this gets rid of over half the names on the list." Tom commented. "Can we suggest names and you bark when we say one you like?" He asked me.

I nodded once.

"Ranger, Bullet, Midnight, Bandit, Fang, Rusty, Patches, Socks, Breeze, Chocolate, Brownie, Sandy." Danny listed off.

I shook my head at all of them. _Those are not for me._

"I don't think she likes them." Tom whispered to Danny.

I rolled my eyes. _I can still hear you._

"Well, we were thinking of boy dog names when we made this." Danny whispered back.

They sat there for a few minutes before Tom asked, "What about Sariel?"

_Sariel…_ I mentally rolled the name over in my head. It was close but not quite…

"What about Shadow?" Danny asked.

_Shadow… That feels…right._ I barked.

"Shadow it is." Tom said.

_Shadow._

"At least we got through with that." Danny pulled a ball out of his pocket and threw it. "Fetch, Shadow!"

_I think this is the start of a wonderful friendship._

* * *

**I don't own Broadchurch.**


	4. Paul

The first few months were nice. Tom and Danny snuck me meals and as they played I got to hear about their day. They talked about the latest video games to how awful school was. During the night, I learned the city layout. It was very basic compared to what I was used to - streetwise, that is - but there were many nooks and crannies and hidden paths everywhere that were a bit more difficult to learn.

At some point, stories about the day's happenings turned into stories about life before I showed up. They started telling me stories about their families and about people around the town.

Did you know Ollie has his own special section of blackmail worthy embarrassing moments? Or that the Vicar was so nervous during his first sermon he botched it up real good? Or that the chick who runs the hotel is like the town prostitute, but no one says anything about it?

That somehow turned into them telling me about their problems and I gave them advice as well as I could through sign language.

I helped them with everything from bullies at school – who I growled at by the way until they quit – to basic life lessons. They always told me how they thought it was so weird how I could understand them so well, it was like I was a human. I worked hard at my poker face for that and when the irony got to be a bit much, I just threw them both a _Don't be ridiculous _Look.

And as we grew closer each day, I started losing hope of turning back into a human.

When it got to summer, they started taking computer classes with the Vicar and one day came running up in a panic. Apparently, the Vicar had overheard them talking about me and wanted to meet me. They were scared that I would get taken away into a kennel, but I saw this as an opportunity. I needed to have an adult on my side. The Vicar would be a perfect place to start. No one wants to go against the Church.

I conveyed as best as I could that it was okay.

"But Shadow, he might take you away." Danny pleaded.

I whined and huffed and finally just took matters into my own hands. I started walking towards the church. When I noticed they weren't following, I glanced back and gave them a Look that conveyed a _Well, come on_ to them. They looked at each other and realized that there was no stopping me. If the Vicar wants to see me, then the Vicar wants to see me.

I continued on, with the boys following a bit begrudgingly.

When we got to the Church, I sat outside and looked at the boys until Tom went in to grab Paul.

"Shadow, we can still leave." Danny tried to plead with me, but I would have nothing of it.

When Paul came out, Danny and Tom took a protect stance in front of me.

"You can't take her. Remember, you promised!" Tom started.

Paul held up his hands in surrender. "I'm not going to take her away from you two. I just wanted to meet the dog you keep talking about, yet your parents seem to have never met." At this statement, I force my way to the front and looked at Paul knowingly. "And you must be Shadow." He greeted. I nodded once and he looked at me a bit searchingly. "Why don't you come in?" He opened the door to the church a bit and I walked in with Tom and Danny at my heels. Honestly, some days I feel like Tom and Danny are the dogs in the relationship.

He walked through the sanctuary. I couldn't help but wag my tail a bit as I walked in. It had been a while since I had been in a church and I had missed the open feeling I always got from it. It always seemed so bright, even when the sky is dark outside.

Paul opened a side door that led to a small room with a nice sitting area. As the boys sat on the couch, I sat in between them on the floor.

"Why did you want to meet Shadow?" Danny asked. "You were very vague about that."

"You made her sound as if she was more than a dog. I was curious." Paul replied.

"She is more than a dog. She's our friend!" Tom was quick on the uptake.

"I understand that. I didn't mean to imply she wasn't your friend." Paul tried to placate them.

"Then why did you want to meet her?" Danny asked again.

"Sometimes, God sends protectors in ways you wouldn't normally imagine. Other times, it's demons who wish to do harm. I'm supposed to get a little suspicious when I hear mentions of animals not acting like animals. Though I can see now, Shadow is more on the protector side of the spectrum." Paul gave me a weird look.

"Of course she is!" Tom said. "She gives great advice and protects us from bullies and cares no matter what! How could you think she could be bad?!"

Paul raised his hands back up in surrender. "Like I said, I'm just supposed to keep a watch out. That's my job. To be a shepherd, like Shadow's breed." He paused. "Interesting name, Shadow. How did you pick it?"

Tom and Danny glanced at each other before Danny answered. "We didn't. She did."

Paul gave me a weird glancing look. "I see. And how did she pick it?"

"We read names of a list. She didn't like any of them so we started naming ones we could think of. She almost picked Sariel, we think. She seemed like she thought about it more than the rest." Tom answered.

"Sariel." Paul mumbled. "Yes well, like I said. I can see I was wrong in my thoughts. You have a very special friend there." He looked directly at me. "If you ever want to come and visit, you are welcome to."

I nodded and led the way out. But I couldn't help but wonder a bit-

_What is so special about the name Sariel?_

* * *

**I don't own Broadchurch.**


	5. Sermons

A few weeks after my encounter with the town Vicar, I ran into him again. This time it was at night, close to one in the morning - judging by when the traffic stopped running, and I was exploring near the church. He was outside and seemed to be attempting to write a sermon from the looks of it. Deciding I had nothing better to do, I walked up to him.

He was so immersed in his thoughts that he jumped when I nudged his knee.

"Shadow." He said. "What are you doing here?" He petted my head.

I stared at him in response. He didn't know me enough to get _I was learning the nooks of town_ from a look like Tom and Danny seemed to be able to do by now.

He sighed and picked up the fallen Bible. I glanced at it and he noticed me looking.

"I'm trying to write a sermon, but it isn't going well. So few people show up and sometimes I wonder why God wanted me here." He started. "The town is so close knit and I feel like an outsider at times."

_I can feel that. I only know two people in the entire town personally, yet I know so much about everyone from the TV show and from Tom and Danny. Or from what I've overheard while exploring. I've done the majority of the town. I've heard quite the bits of gossip._ Despite my empathy, I wasn't sure on how to help him. While my Grandpa had been a Reverend, and my uncle as well, I don't know much about sermon writing. But I can pull up a few verses that I know. From what I hear, he needs to look at Proverbs for a sermon start. It's the least I can do since he has kept his mouth shut about me - or so I would assume as I haven't had pound problems.

_Dang it. Now which book is Proverbs? Let's see, there's Genesis, Exodus, 2 Solomons? The 20th from the Old Testament? Roughly?_

I tap out 20 with my paw. Paul looked at me weird.

"What?" He said. "I don't understand."

I huffed and nosed the Bible. He picked it up gingerly. I tapped twenty times again.

"Twenty…twenty what?" He looked at me. "Pages?" I shook my head. "Verses?" Again, no. "Chapters?" _Really Paul!_ He thought a bit. "Books?" _Yes! Yes, books Paul. Start counting and read them out loud!_ Quickly he opened it to the Old Testament. He moved his finger down until finally he said, "Proverbs."

_Haha! Got it right on first try._ He flipped to the right page and then looked at me again. "Okay, where in Proverbs?"

I tapped out 3 and then waited a few seconds before tapping out 5.

"Eight?" He guessed.

_No! You dim wad! _I repeated 3 with a pause before doing 5.

"Proverbs 3:5?" He asked. _Yes! Yes! Yes!_ Finally he got there and read it out loud. "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." I nodded, that was the one! He continued reading. "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." He trailed off. He looked at me really hard. "You're not a dog are you?" He asked quietly.

I shook my head no. Funny. Faith is what allows for one person to believe just a part of my crazy story without me really telling them it. All because I could remember the right verse at the right time for the right person. And I was so bitchy about it as a kid. I never saw the point of memorizing Bible verses when I could just google them. I guess that shows me. But, he can believe what he wants as long as it means I can have him on my side when I need him to be. If I helped him out along the way, then goody, but I don't want to get sent to the pound when I have the opportunity to stop Danny's death from occurring.

Seeing that I had done what I could for the moment, I walked off to test out a few escape plans before going to sleep for the night.

And as I walked away, I never heard Paul muttering plans for a sermon; a sermon where he tells of how God's plan can be shown in the strangest of ways – where even a dog can be a sign.

* * *

**If you don't like the religion being brought in, don't read.**

**I don't own Broadchurch...or the Bible.**


	6. Fighting

When school started again, I spent a lot of the day sleeping while I practiced various escape plans for what I liked to call "Worst Case" scenarios at night. A lot of them failed miserably while others only needed a few tweaks to work perfectly. I also ran along the beach for as long and as fast as I could - when I woke up and before I went to sleep - to try and train my body as much as possible. I wanted to be ready for everything that could happen. I wanted to be able to take down Danny's killer and have everything work out fine.

But then the days started to get colder and colder and I couldn't spend much time outside or I would get sick. I couldn't afford to get sick, so I started to sleep in the church and when Paul noticed, he started leaving a side door unlocked and it had a handle I could push down with my nose to get in. Just for that, I walked with him on some of the nights when he couldn't sleep. He seemed like he appreciated it.

During some of those walks, he would talk about the town's people and their troubles. I guess he figured I couldn't tell anyone about it. He also talked about his troubles and how he had been a bit of an alcoholic until he managed to change his ways. It was interesting as the show never really showed the stories of the other people. All we heard was the reasons why they could have killed Danny, not the reasons of why they couldn't have.

For example, Paul really sounds like he just wants to try and help people but he isn't sure of how to do it. He figures if he can get people to come to church he can then start using his sermons to make a bigger difference and to help create a tighter community that helps each other.

I have the unique perspective of knowing what small towns and cities are like and what makes them different. For example, cities are nice in that people can blend in. You can go to the store and not know everyone who is there. Small towns, though, everyone knows everybody else. You can't get away with anything easily. All of the adults know your parents, someone knows something about you that you wish they didn't, and everyone knows when someone new comes to live and for the next two generations, you get to be called "those new folk down yonder." It's the same here.

Everyone has secrets and there is this unspoken list of rules everyone follows. Paul figured if he could start some church committee to get people involved, he could break down some of those unspoken barriers and get people past their mind sets.

I wish him luck in his endeavors. If the British are anything like Americans then attempting to change a small town's mind will need some kind of Divine Intervention.

Soon winter was almost over and one day, Tom came to visit me without Danny.

I went at the normal time and he was in tears. I went to go comfort him and he just hugged me while the story came tumbling off his lips like an avalanche.

"Danny-" he hiccupped. "Danny doesn't want to be friends with me anymore. He says he found a new friend and he doesn't need me no more. But I don't understand. What happened to best friends forever? We agreed. Best friends forever. What does his new friend have that I don't? How could our promise mean so little to him?"

It basically continued along those lines for another ten minutes or so. After he got it all out of his system, he sat there for a moment.

"What do I do, Shadow?"

_Sorry, Tom. I don't have much advice except wait. Show him how he can still have his new friend and still be friends with you._

"But what if he keeps rejecting my friendship?"

_Then don't do something stupid and wait him out. You guys tend to do stupid things and this happens to be one of them. Danny will realize he was wrong. Just you wait and see. But to speed the process along, you need to work at keep his friendship. Don't just shove him away. I want both of my boys._

Tom sighed. "That seems like you think it will be a few months before anything will happen."

_Sorry, kiddo. This could take anywhere from a few weeks to maybe even a year._

"I don't know if I can be that patient." Tom confessed.

_If you want Danny's friendship back, you'll have to be._

After I finished knocking sense into Tom's head, I realized I needed to also go and knock sense into Danny's. But no matter how hard I tried, he refused to acknowledge my presence. I even went to his house and almost got caught by the fucking dog catchers in my attempts. Though he did look guilty when it happened, it still made me a bit pissed off at him.

But I kept reminding myself that he is still the victim in all of this. He has been persuaded by a perv to drop all the important contacts in his life and that includes me. I just hope he has kept quiet and is thinking that he is protecting me by not associating with me anymore.

I really hope for his sake that he is thinking along those lines or I swear I will growl at him when he comes groveling for me to take him back.

But now that this event has taken place, I start to keep a look out for three signs. The first sign is Ellie Miller taking off work for three weeks. The second sign is Alec Hardy coming to town. And the third sign is Mark's night out "working."

And while I kept watch in the weeks before Danny's impending doom, I realized that despite my efforts, it seemed as though nothing was changing.

* * *

**I don't own Broadchurch.**


	7. Danny

A month had passed since Tom came crying to my side. Since then, Danny hadn't come to see me and he wasn't letting me contact him. I could feel his death approaching. I was starting to get really nervous the longer he wouldn't let anyone near him. I started to shadow him everywhere I could manage without disappearing from Tom or Paul. It wouldn't do to alienate them this when I was this close.

When Tom came to visit and mentioned how his mom was taking off work for a few weeks, I was torn between wanting to be happy now that I knew exactly where we were and horrified as time seemed to keep slipping from my grasp.

I double my efforts at getting some kind of contact with Danny and he doubled his efforts at avoiding me. At least he didn't send the dog catchers after me, but some of his rebuffs hurt more than I care to admit.

3 weeks turned to 2.

2 weeks turned to 1.

Tom and Paul started to realize something was up as I was a mess. My thoughts became obsessed with trying to reach Danny. They both tried to keep me preoccupied and I'm sure they conversed with each other at some point as sometime last week I found myself hard pressed to find time to reach Danny without just running off on them.

I didn't outright give away what was happening, but let's just say I wasn't much fun to be around as the day kept getting closer.

Granted, it wasn't as bad as when I first saw sight of Alec Hardy being in town.

I freaked out thinking that I had miscounted the days before I realized that he had to have shown up at some point for a job interview.

I freaked out so much, I almost gave myself away as he came to investigate the bushes I was in before I saw him stalk over with a grouchy expression plastered on his face.

I was not in the right mental state to try and deal with Alec Hardy at that time. In fact, I'm barely in the correct mental state to stop Danny's murder, but it wouldn't stop me from trying.

6 days.

.

.

.

.

.

.

5 days.

I started to spend the night watching Danny's house.

.

.

.

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4 days.

.

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3 days.

.

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2 days.

Tom mentions how his mom is going back to work soon.

Becca Fisher had a special smile on her face when she thought no one was looking.

Mark looked nervous and a bit guilty every time he looked at his wife.

.

.

1 day.

I didn't meet up with Tom or Paul. I stalked Danny all day without him knowing.

.

Night fell.

I waited in wait and when Danny snuck out, I followed him.

Once he was about halfway to his destination, I ran up to his side. He saw me and stopped in shock. We stood in the middle of the street while he gaped at me before he glared.

"Go home, Shadow."

_Not a chance._

"Shadow, please, just go home."

_I know what you've been up to and why you cut off your friendship with Tom._

The fire in his eyes quickly turned to fear.

_Danny….._

_Danny, just because you have another relationship with someone else doesn't mean you should cut off everyone else. You can have friends._

"But he doesn't like it." Danny whispered.

_I think you know enough that this isn't healthy._

"But he cares."

_Yes he does. But sometimes it goes a bit too far and I think you know that._

"Shadow….." He paused. "I was going to try and break it off tonight. I was going to try and fix this, but I don't know how."

_Well, you can start with an apology._

He look so pitiful and so lost as he let a "I'm sorry" and actually sounded like he meant it.

_And now you can decide to go back home or you can continue on to your planned meeting. I strongly suggest that you __**go home**__._

"But he'll get mad." Danny tried to explain.

_When you tell your parents, they can press charges. But you would have to fight hard to be able to see Ellie and Tom._

"But he's their friend. What if they don't? What if they don't believe me? And this would rip our families apart." He seemed to be getting a little more upset.

_They are your parents! Regardless of what has happened, they still love you! They will always pick you and your sister over a potential friend._

"Shadow, can't I just end it tonight and be done? Mum and Dad won't have to break off any friendships and things can just go back to the way it was." He looked really convinced of this horrible plan.

_Danny…_I whined.

He gave me a determined, pleading look and I caved.

_Fine. But I'm coming with you._

I really hope this doesn't end badly.

* * *

**I do not own Broadchurch and to you lurkers, a review would be nice...please... *puppy eyes***


	8. The Fight

_I'll be trailing you the entire time. If you need help, shout. I'll hear you. If you can't shout, try to knock something over and I'll come running in. If at any time I feel like you're in some kind of danger, I will come bursting in._

Danny looked ready to protest a bit, but a glare from me kept his mouth shut. Smart boy.

He continued on his path and I merged into the shadows.

_This is it._

I tailed Danny up to the house on the cliff edge. As he went to the front, I went around to the side to hide so Joe wouldn't see me. My entire body was filled with adrenaline as fear for Danny filled my entire being.

Joe greeted Danny at the front door and Danny walked in.

I perked my ears up.

After about an hour, I heard shouting and I raced to the front where I saw Danny stalking away.

_This is it._

I slipped inside where the door was open and watched as Joe ran after Danny and pleaded with him.

Danny was persuaded back inside and made eye contact with me as he stepped across the threshold.

The continued their argument.

Joe slung Danny against the wall as he frantically pleaded with him and I stepped in.

I lunged forward, with a growl, and attacked Joe's arm. Danny was dropped to the ground and Joe and I spun around as I was tossed from side to side.

But I didn't let go.

We crashed into the table by the couch and I let go to get between Joe and Danny.

Joe drunkenly got up and turned around.

"Damned dog!" He shouted at me.

I growled as ferociously as possible as I gave him my best Death Glare. I didn't dare take my eyes off him long enough to check on Danny.

"You can't keep me from him!" He shouted manically. He started forward and I gave a warning snap of my jaws.

_Don't test me._

He grabbed a piece of wood from the broken table and held it like a baseball bat. He swung and I leaped on top of him as I grabbed it with my teeth. I ignored the splinters as he tried to strong arm me off. While he tried to shake me from his piece of wood, I made sure to dig my back claws into his more….sensitive areas.

He howled with pain and I felt a burst of satisfaction flood through me, but it was short lived as he got enough of an adrenaline rush to kick me off as instinct forced the knee-jerk reaction of curling into a ball. I slammed into the wall.

_This is going to really hurt tomorrow._

I shook it off as best I could, but I was still winded. I moved back in between Joe and Danny, but it didn't seem as though Joe would be moving any time soon. Leaving him for the moment, I went to where Danny was still crumpled on the ground.

He wasn't moving.

_Please_

I heard an anguished moan and I looked back over to see Joe roll over and try to get back up.

I growled as he stumbled into a half standing position, but he was mainly focused with clutching his jewels.

After a few more minutes, he managed to get enough control of himself to pay attention to what was happening. It seemed as though the pain was able to clear his crazed mind a bit.

He looked a bit in horror at Danny's broken form on the ground. He made eye contact with me. "Please." He pleaded. "I didn't mean to go that far."

I growled as I stepped forward menacingly.

_Yeah, but sometimes you can't always fix an accident. Leave._

He seemed torn between seeing if Danny was alright or running off. I decided to help him out bit.

I barked and snapped and he turned tail and ran off.

I watched him and went around to see him get in his car and leave. I waited a minute after he drove off and did a quick perimeter check and after there was no sign that Joe had snuck back, I ran back in to check on Danny.

He was still motionless and I feared the worst until I managed to get close enough in to see he his chest was moving slightly up and down. I needed to get help in here fast.

I ran outside and made as much of a racket as I could, but from where I was thrown into the wall, it was hard to keep the volume up.

An hour passed and no one came.

I didn't want to leave him, but if I couldn't get anyone here….

I checked one last time and he was still breathing.

I forced myself to head towards town to try and find someone…anyone.

_Please, God, don't let him be harmed further. Give me time to find help._

* * *

**I don't own Broadchurch.**

**Thanks for the review, follow, and favorites.**

**Side note: Every time I update, I also upload edited chapters so if you saw a mistake or something in a past chapter, it might be fixed...**


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